What is the best tog for a summer duvet?

When the cold months vanish and the British sunshine begins to warm us in its glow, the nights can become uncomfortable if you forget to modify your sleeping arrangement in accordance with the change in seasons.

The colder portion of the year warrants thicker, more insulating fabrics to keep you warm at night so you get a good sleep. However, once summer arrives, you will feel like sleeping with the covers off.

To avoid this problem, I’m going to attempt to answer the almighty question: “what is the best tog for a summer duvet?”

What is tog?

Before my recommendation, we should first of all look at what tog is and how it will affect the level of warmth you retain when covering yourself.

A tog is a unit of measurement for thermal resistance. The higher the number, the greater resistance an object has to letting heat pass through it.

There’s a mathematical equation to create a tog unit, however, because most textile companies figure that out for you, we won’t dive that deep into it. Just know that a product with a tog number over 12 is much better at retaining heat from a source than a product with a tog of 4, i.e. higher numbers let less heat escape through their fabrics.

Best tog for summer duvets

The first question to ask yourself is “how hot do I get when I sleep?” If you share a bed with a partner they’ll be able to give you a good idea. The more heat you generate, the lighter the tog you will want in the summer to prevent you from waking up from overheating.

If you’re a mini oven, a 3 tog duvet might be best for you. Step it up a tog or two if you like to feel toastier in bed though and can deal with the heat.

On the other hand, if you struggle to get warm in an evening, go for a slightly thicker tog of around 5 to 7. The added insulation will help you retain what heat you do produce under the covers.

For your reference, below is a guide that was published by Kim at Dreams Ltd. It acts as a good basis to make your seasonal duvet decisions on but don’t forget about how much heat you output too, as well as your partners if you share a bed. The combination of these will ultimately be your decider.

Randal Whitmore

Randal Whitmore is the Editor of Home Luv and a prolific writer and reader of interior design and home improvement. He’s experienced and lived in a variety of housing environments as a University student and dreams of owning a home in the British countryside.